Dredger



W. A. GIBBS Sept. 10, 1929.

DREDGER Filed Nov. 17, 1927 Patented Sept. 10, 1929.

UNITED STATES WALTER A. GIBBS, OF HOLLYOAK, DE AWARE;

DREDGER.

Application filed November This invention relates to improvements in caps for receptacles of the general type known as dredgers, and has a particularly valuable application to shakers, such as are commonly used for sifting salt and like substances.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a cap of novel form affording the most efficient results under varying conditions, such as moisture affecting the physical characteristics of the contents of the receptacle.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a cap for salt shakers and the like having means for adjusting the opening or openings through which the contents are ejected.

Another specific object of the invention is to provide a cap for salt shakers and the like so formed as to render the discharge opening or openings through which the contents are ejected readily cleanable and free from accumulations.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cap for salt cellars and the like in which the discharge opening or openings are so formed as to largely preclude the possibility of accumulations forming to obstruct the openings.

Broadly the invention contemplates the provision of a cap for salt shakers or the like in which a comparatively free flow or passage of the contents from the receptacle may be obtained under practically all conditions affecting the physical characteristics of the salt or other contents.

In the attached drawings:

Figure 1 is a view in perspective of a dredg er made in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a view in perspective of the main portion or body of the cap removed;

Fig. 3 is a view in perspective of the collar by which the discharge opening in the cap is regulated as to size;

Fig. 4 is a reduced view in perspective of the main body of the receptacle to which the cap is adapted to be attached, and i Fig. 5 is a vertical section on the line 55,

Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings illustrating a 17, 1927. Serial No. 233,942.

well known type of salt shaker equipped with my invention, 1 is the body of the receptacle; which is commonly made of glass and which in the present instance includes at the top a threaded neck 2 for reception of a cap. The cap forming the subject of the present invention and as shown in Figs. 1, 2 ancl-3, com-- prises a substantiallycylindrical body portion 8 which at one end is internally threaded for cooperation with the threaded portion 2 c0 of the receptacle and whose opposite end is closed by a disk a which in the present instance projects slightly beyond the sides of the cylinder. In the side of this cap and preferably immediately adjacentand bounded by the disk 4 are one or more openingsfi which when the cap is threaded onto the receptacle 1 constitutes the discharge opening. The cap further comprises adjustable means for reg-- ulating the effective size of the discharge 7() opening, this taking the form in the present instance of a collar or sleeve 6 slidable on the cylindrical portion of the cap and being therefore adjustable to positions completely closing the opening 5 or uncovering said opening to give the desired outlet.

As stated above, it is desirable that the opening 5 be immediately adjacent the out er end of the cap, since in this way no ledge is formed at what normally is the upper end of the discharge opening 5 which would tend to prevent the contents at that point from passing through the opening and would constitute a source of accumulation eventually affecting the free flow of the contents 815 through the opening 5. When with the present construction the receptacle 1 is inverted, the contents will flow down against the inner face of the top 4 and will slide unobstructed from the opening 5. Also should the contents of the receptacle tend to adhere to the inner face of the disk 4, the construction is such as to facilitate the scraping or cleaning of this surface to free the accumulation.

It is also desirable that the effective discharge opening in any position of the sleeve 6 shall be uniformly wide throughout its length. To this end, the upper edge of the collar is parallel with the long edge of the slot and both are parallel to the top 4. This 1 provides for a free flow of the contents of the receptacle from the slot when the receptacle is tipped, since the contents have a tendency to flow freely through the slot over its entire length. It will be noted further that the sleeve 6 in the present instance is freely rotatableon the cylindrical cap body, Which facilitates the longitudinal adjustment of the sleeve. 10 It will be apparent that the invention is capable of numerous embodiments departing considerably in detail from the embodiment herein described and illustrated.

I claim: r 1, A cap for salt dredgers and the like comprising a body portion adapted to be fitted at one end to the container forming the receptacle of the dredger andbeing closed at the opposite end,.said.body having also a slot in the side constituting a discharge port one or the transverse edges of Which is defined by the top of the cap.

2. Acap for a salt dredger or the like comprising acylindrical body adapted to be fitted at one end to a container constituting the receptacle of the dredger and having its other end closed, said body also having a slotted opening in the sidethe top edge of which is defined by the top of the cap, and a sleeve slidable on the body and having its upper edge parallel ,to the said top edge of the slot.

\VALTER A. GIBBS. 

